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BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
1150 Beal Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113
Creator: Harbour, James E.
Title:
James E. Harbour papers.
Inclusive dates: 1977-2009
Extent: 3 linear feet
Call number: 2012132 Aa 2
Language:
Acquisition:
Accruals:
Access:
Material is in English
The collection was the gift of James E. Harbour (donor no.
10794) and came to the library in June 2012.
Periodic additions to the collection are expected.
The collection is open without restriction.
Digital Material: CD-R discs (4) in box 1
Copyright:
Processed By:
Copyright is not held by the Regents of the University of
Michigan.
Michigan Historical Collections staff

James E. Harbour
Biography
James E. Harbour is a recognized automotive industry analyst. Early in his career,
he worked in the automotive industry as a manager and director in the engineering and
financial disciplines at Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation. In 1980, he
formed Harbour and Associates, Inc., a consulting firm designed to assist manufacturing
companies improve their overall competitiveness. The firm dedicated itself to helping
manufacturers develop a strategic focus where the design, product, and manufacturing
engineering functions focused on continuous improvement of product quality and
efficiency. The firm worked directly with automotive companies throughout the world
and expanded its scope to assist companies in industries such as pharmaceuticals,
consumer products, electrical components, furniture, and paper products as they study
and apply improvement methods.
Harbour and his team created the first Harbour Report, a study of manufacturing
performance at original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in 1980. The report was
updated in 1989 and became an annual publication in 1993. The Harbour Report has
driven improvements in manufacturing performance for the OEMs over the past three
decades. Recognized throughout the automotive industry, the report is read by thousands
of automotive OEMs, suppliers, financial analysts, and media each year.
In 2009, he released his autobiography, Factory Man: How Jim Harbour
discovered Toyota’s quality and productivity methods and helped the U.S. auto industry
get competitive, written with James V. Higgins and published by the Society of
Manufacturing Engineers (SME).
Scope and Content Note
The Harbour collection concerns his work as an analyst of the automobile industry.
In addition to copies of The Harbour Report, the collection includes newspaper and
magazine articles written by Harbour or containing references to him, and files pertaining
to his participation at automobile related conferences. Also of interest are various
promotional and related materials surrounding the publication of his book Factory Man.
i

James E. Harbour
Box No. Description
_
Topical files
Box 1
Analysis of the Japanese Landed Cost Advantage for the Manufacture
of Subcompact Cars, 1982
Auto Employment Study, 1979 and 1992
Auto Workforce Study, 1979
Auto Workforce Analysis: Workers per Million Vehicles Produced
1979 vs. 1995
Auto Workforce, December 31, 1997
Automotive Competitive Challenges; Going Beyond Lean (Harbour-
Felax Group
Automotive – In-house sourcing
Biographical – personnel appointment notices
Biographical – Fast Company magazine article about Harbour
General Motors articles
General Motors competitive studies
General Motors Metal Stamping press release, October 1998 (include
mention of Harbour Report)
Quotations of others about statements of Harbour
Vendor tooling study: “Vendor Tooling: The Not so Missing Link”
2009
Wagoner, Rick, Jr., correspondence with, 2004-2005
Harbour family members
Laurie Harbour (3 folders)
Ron Harbour, article about
Ken Harbour, article on quality
Conferences
Auto News World Congress, 1982
Japanese Auto Industry Conference, 1982
Automobile Production Conference, 1992
Schafer Hydroforming Congress, 1997
APMA Canada Auto Parts Manufacturing Association, 1998
Letters received following his participation at various meetings, 1983-
1994
Factory Man
Reviews, articles, press releases, interviews (40 folders in 1 expandable
folder)
Power Point presentation to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers,
February 2009 (1 binder)
Draft of book (Microsoft Word); power-point presentation about book
(4 CD-Rs)
Box 2
Articles written by Harbour or containing references to him
Newspaper clippings and magazine articles, 1977-2009 (1 binder and
10 folders in 1 expandable folder)
1

James E. Harbour
Box No. Description
_
Harbour Report
Box 2 (cont.)
The Harbour Report: A Decade Later, Competitive Assessment of the
North American Automobile Industry 1979-1989
The Harbour Report: Competitive Assessment of the North American
Automobile Industry 1989-1992
The Original Harbour Report 1980, 1981 (Second Edition)
Box 3
The Harbour Report, Manufacturing Analysis, Company by Company,
Plant by Plant, Europe, 1995-1996 and 1999-2005 (9 issues)
The Harbour Report, Manufacturing Analysis, Company by Company,
Plant by Plant, North America, 2000-2005 and 2007 (7 issues)
Promotional brochure for 2004 report
2